Corn Chowder and Plum Crisp

We roasted corn recently and had a couple of ears left over. They have been sitting in the fridge asking me to make them into chowder. I love corn chowder, maybe it's the bacon we always crumbled on top when I was a kid. What's not to like when you crumble bacon on top of it?I started out using this recipe from Simply Recipes; however, I can't picture carrot or red pepper in my corn chowder, so I left them out. It seems to me that the corn takes care of the sweetness and other sweet items like carrots and red peppers aren't necessary.

And I have to have mushrooms in my chowder, they offer the nice earthy contrast to the sweetness for my taste buds.

I started out by frying 3 strips of bacon in a small fry pan.

When they were finished, or more than finished because I forgot about them, I set the bacon aside and poured the grease into a pot large enough for the chowder.

In the hot grease, I sauteed 1 diced small onion and 1 diced jalapeno for about 5 minutes. I added 6 sliced crimini mushrooms. I cooked this another 3 minutes or so. If I had had celery I would have added it too.

I shaved the kernels off the two left over cobs. I broke the cobs in halve and added them to the pot. The cobs are supposed to give off more corn flavor and help thicken the broth, I believe; however, I don't know if using the roasted corn reduces this effect.

With the cobs in the pot, I added 3 1/2C milk (I used the 2% I had left, about 3C, and whole milk). I also added a bay leaf and brought all of this to a gentle boil. I reduced the heat to warm to maintain a very light simmer and covered the pot. The recipe suggests cooking it for 30 minutes at this point. I was stalling at this point so I let it simmer very gently for nearly an hour.

Then I removed the cobs and the bay leaf and added 1 diced large red potato, 1t kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper. I increased the heat and let this simmer for about 15 minutes.

(Then I had to turn off the heat and go rescue a friend whose truck broke down.) I added the corn (corn shaved off 2 cobs + 1C frozen corn) and 1/2t fresh thyme. I cooked this just long enough to warm the corn through. We ate the chowder with crumbled bacon on top!

For dessert we had this plum crumble, which was delicious. In fact, it sounds like breakfast this morning!

Calabacitas

Calabacitas: squash, onions, corn, and chiles; yummy side dish or taco filling.

4-5 squash (any combination of yellow squash and zucchini will work), sliced into 1/4 inch thick medallions

1 sweet onion, halved and sliced

Corn (1 can or 3 ears)

1 can green chiles (I often get Ortega or Casa Fiesta, but don't use canned jalapenos unless you want SPICY)

4-5 strips of bacon, chopped into 1 inch pieces

In a cast iron or large non-stick skillet, cook bacon over med-high heat until done but not crispy. Add onions to pan and cook until translucent or even lightly browned (6-8 minutes). Reduce heat to medium and add squash in batches, about 1/3 at a time, to make sure it gets its fair share of bacon grease and direct exposure to the hot pan. Add corn and chiles and cook over med-low heat until everything is warm through. This dish can be prepared first and sit while the rest of the meal is cooking.

At the beach last week we used canned corn and only a few chiles because I accidently picked up canned jalapenos and we didn't want to make everyone wince and cry in pain from the heat. On Monday night when we made calabacitas to go with our tacos, we used leftover grilled corn from the night before. We had about 2 1/2 ears left and I scraped the kernels right off the cobs and tossed it in instead of canned corn. Delicious if you have the corn left over but not necessary.

July 4th!

My husband and I had a lovely getaway over the 4th of July weekend. We met a couple of our friends for a relaxing weekend of sun, boating, fishing, and of course, EATING!

Dinner Saturday night came off the charcoal grill. Our main dish was a selection of grilled sausages (lamb and mint, mushroom and asiago, and hot! Thai) and sliced onions.

On the side we had a roasted potato salad. My husband diced and roasted the potatoes in the oven. The roasted potatoes were mixed with about 2T mayo, diced orange pepper, diced fresh jalapenos, red onions, and probably a few other things. I didn't carefully watch the whole process, oops!

We also had corn on the cob roasted on the grill. The corn, still in its husks, soaked in water for about 30 minutes while the grill was getting hot. Then my husband stuck it on the grill for 20-30 minutes, as we usually do. After taking it off the grill, he let it steam in a paper bag, while the sausages and onions cooked. He added a new tasty step at the end of the process: he pulled back the husks and put the corn straight on the grill. By finishing it off this way the corn browned in a few places, the sugars carmelized, and the resulting flavor was wonderfully smokey and sweet.

Luckily, one of our friends had the energy left after dinner to whip up a batch of brownies from scratch. She followed the Joy of Cooking recipe and they were a perfectly rich chocolate treat.